Conspiracy Theories
by Jezel Redfern
Summary: Set after series 4, Vlad has tracked down Erin and Malik, and the family is reunited once again. But as old faces return slightly different from before, can they stick to the truce or was it all destined to fail? Erin/Vlad Malik/? Ingrid/? R&R.
1. Chapter 1

One week. That's all it had taken for Erin Noble and Malik Dracula to return to Paris, given, Vladimir had known that it was Erin's favorite city, but still he had thought Malik had been smarter than to double-back so soon. Not that Vlad was complaining about it, he just wanted Erin safe; them doubling back had only reassured him that Erin would be safer with him. He hadn't been sure, especially after Ingrid had told him that he had to let Erin make her own mistakes, and realize that Malik was one, but now he was.  
"Stalking now are we?" Ingrid asked, appearing beside him in the shadows of a building. Erin was stood outside the hotel opposite; tapping away at her phone, Malik was nowhere to be seen.  
"I like to think of it as a romantic walk with only I know about." He replied not taking his eyes off of Erin who was waiting for someone, given that it was a) the middle of the night and b) she couldn't speak French, that someone must be Malik. "Anyway I need to have a word with Malik." He lied. Ingrid nodded. The pair stood watching Erin in silence, ten minutes passed and she hadn't moved. Malik still hadn't shown. Erin started to fidget and bit her nails; Vlad frowned before dismissing the thought: Erin only did that when she was nervous. As another five minutes passed Erin begun to glance towards the darkened alley where the siblings stood. Vlad was beginning to wonder how she hadn't seen them, whereas Ingrid had rolled her eyes at her brothers stupidity, and glanced at her nails.  
_This is getting really painful_. Ingrid muttered telepathically. Vlad glanced at her in annoyance.  
_What do you mean? And no one made you tag along, you're here of your own free will._ He replied.  
_Yes. But someone has to point out to you that Erin knows you're watching her and that she's waiting for you, not Malik. _Ingrid replied smugly, Vlad shook his head. "Also," Ingrid said speeding off to grab Erin and drag her over to Vlad, "Someone had to make the first move." Erin rubbed her wrist gently where Ingrid had been holding her, but made no attempt to flee. Neither said anything. "Okay, so let me make this clear," Ingrid said harshly, "either you two kiss and make up and go back to being annoyingly lovey dovey or I'm going to lock you outside somewhere where you can burn. Understand?" Vlad went to reply but Erin got there first.  
"Why are you doing this?" She asked, folding her arms and finally looking away from Vlad. He nodded in agreement.  
"It's not exactly like you're getting anything out of us sorting out these issues." He added, "I mean it's not like…" Suddenly Vlad understood why Ingrid had suddenly changed her mind into getting him and Erin to make up. Ingrid looked away.  
"Because I know what it's like to lose that person who means the most to you, and no matter how much you two get on my nerves, I would never wish that on anyone. Losing Will made me realize how much I needed him, I don't want to see either of you hurting like that. You're the only real family I've got." Ingrid muttered. Erin looked slightly confused.  
"Wait, who's Will?" Ingrid turned to her, as Vlad muttered, 'Her boyfriend who died about three years ago' telepathically to her.  
"That's not the point!" she snapped, "The point is you don't know what you've got until you've lost it." She sighed, "Just sort all of your problems now. I'll handle Malik and I'll meet you both back at Garside as soon as." She said, speeding off. There was silence between the pair, after a few moments Vlad broke it.  
"You wanna take a walk?" he asked.  
"Yeah, I'd like that."

Erin and Vlad walked along the river's edge. The sky was clear and the stars shone brightly. They walked side by side, matching each other's pace in silence until they came across a bench. They sat side by side watching the river.  
"You shouldn't have staked Bertrand." Erin said, finally. "He did nothing but try to help you." Vlad sighed.  
"I know, I should have listened to you both. I over reacted." There was silence again, as neither wanted to pursue the topic further.  
"Why did you bite me Vlad, even though I asked you not to?" She asked, breaking the silence once again. Vlad sighed, he'd thought about it over and over by himself eve since Erin had told him that she hated him. "I loved you Erin, I still do. I wanted to do what you said but I couldn't just let you die. Ingrid kept telling me that you'd hate me for the rest of your unlife but I didn't care because you wouldn't be dead. Even if you had never spoken to me again it wouldn't have mattered as long as you were undead." Vlad took a second to glance at her face before continuing. "It's my fault you got into this mess and I wanted you to be happy." He sighed, "I needed you Erin, just to know that you were alive and happy because you were all I had. I didn't want you to lose your chance at life because of me." Vlad let out an unneeded breath of air.  
"I'm sorry." Erin muttered shamefully, looking downwards.  
"Don't be." Vlad said bluntly, "You moved on, as long as you're happy that's all that matters to me." He added. This seemed to make Erin smile.  
"What?" Vlad asked, his face suddenly dropping.  
"You can be a right idiot sometimes" she teased, for a moment almost sounding like the old Erin.  
"Hey!" Vlad replied raising his hands in surrender, "I'm just starting the facts." He smiled, standing up. "So can I hope for friends at least?" He asked, offering his hand to help her up from the bench. She took it and stood in front of him.  
"No," she said bluntly taking a leap, Vlad's smile dropped, but Erin continued.  
"I don't want to be just be friends" She said. "I know I messed up big time Vlad, and I know I can't go back and change that but I'll change." Erin began to speak more urgently. "I'll do anything Vlad. Just give me another chance please!" She begged. Vlad went to speak but she continued. "No, that's asking too much. I've done a lot of bad things I'll accept the punishment for that, no matter what it is." By the laws of the old council she would have been severely punished for her 'betrayal' to her 'creator', and that usually meant death, Erin knew that. And as for all her other 'crimes' that was another story. By his rules though, and he wouldn't lie he may have been tweaking them as they spoke; she was allowed another chance at a fresh start. Erin and Vlad still had a strong connection; it hadn't been broken when he tried to break it, only weakened a little, so he could hear every thought passing through her mind. She thought she deserved death, and she was willing to accept that. She was being honest though, she really did want to change. What she'd done was killing her inside, even though she knew part of the reason why was the change. They couldn't justify it all with that, but that had been what had led her astray, that and the fact that Vlad, in her words, the only family she had left, had betrayed her.  
"I'll have to talk to the council," he warned, she nodded, "And you'll have to apologies to the slayers" Erin nodded again. "But if you're really serious about changing then we can work it out. A clean slate, and we'll leave what's in the past where it is"  
"Thank you," Erin said quietly, "You won't regret it." Vlad laughed  
"I hope not," he teased, "cuz I don't think I can deal with the heartache." Erin rolled her eyes.

Ingrid appeared next to Malik in a darkened alley on the opposite side of Paris. "What is it with my brothers and stalking girls today?" She asked, joining him in a watching a girl who looked about a year younger than Vlad.  
"He found her alright then?" Malik asked, never taking his eyes of the girl.  
"Thanks to you." Ingrid muttered, "Human or vampire?" she questioned.  
"Half-fang" he muttered, before glancing back at Ingrid, "and I think she's an old friend of yours." Ingrid frowned,  
"I don't remember biting any girls that young." She stated, Malik shook his head.  
"I don't know who bit her but I don't think it was a Dracula." He replied stepping forward slightly to get a better a view, as if he was waiting for her to come over. "She's been meeting with a breather for a while now; I thought I should check it out. I don't think she would hurt him after finding out what I have, you'll see why." Malik muttered as the breather in question approached them from behind.  
"I don't know what you said to her Malik, but it worked. She's going to cooperate. You're a miracle worker!" The breather chimed in a thick welsh accent, "Oh, hello Ingrid. It's been a while." He greeted, Malik smirked as Ingrid's jaw dropped.  
"Robin?"

"I didn't know what was coming over me though," Erin mumbled as the pair walked along the river side aimlessly.  
"I think it was the ring from Adze's ring." Vlad replied apologetically. "It would have taken you a while to fight off the creepy evil forces." He teased waving the fingers of his free had. Vlad stopped suddenly, pulling Erin to face him, arms wrapped round her petit waist.  
_You are okay now right? _He asked searching her eyes for any pain. Erin smiled and pulled out a small jewelry box from inside her jacket, when she shook it Vlad could hear broken pieces of something heavy rattling around.  
_Before you staked Bertrand, he put me in touch with a Vampire Surgeon in Switzerland; I had it removed the other day.  
_He smiled and gave her a peck on the cheek.  
_Don't lose that, _he warned, _you know how dangerous that can be in the wrong hands. _Erin laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. After a while Vlad pulled back and rested his forehead against hers. "Don't scare me like that again,_" _He whispered,  
"I promise" she replied, raising her hand to stroke his cheek. She smiled, "But maybe this time my prince can save me before I get kidnapped by his evil-almost-wife?" She teased, Vlad raised his hands.  
"No more arranged marriages to evil vampire princesses who want to kidnap my girl." He promised, slipping his hand into hers. She leaned against him as they walked along the footpath.  
"Let's go home." Vlad said, pulling Erin to drape his arm around her shoulders, still holding her hand. She nodded smiling, as they shifted into bats before heading home.


	2. Chapter 2

"So let me get this straight," Ingrid said, looking from Robin to Malik and then to Chloe, who had speed over to them when she had heard her brother show. "A vampire bit Chloe." The blond girl nodded. "But you don't know who?" She questioned.  
"No," Chloe stated bluntly in a faded welsh accent. "And this is why Malik is trying to get us to Garside." She continued in a bored tone.  
"I did try to explain the truce to them." Malik told Ingrid, "She'd have been bitten last week, so obviously someone's broken the truce. That's Vlad's problem to deal with." Ingrid shook her head,  
"He's sorting things out with Erin, we'll have to deal with this." Malik sighed, and ran his fingers through his hair.  
"Who's Erin?" Robin questioned, suddenly interested in the conversation. Ingrid sighed.  
"I don't think that's the point Robin." Chloe muttered.  
"No it's not." Ingrid said, rubbing her forehead, thinking. "Okay, so we need to find out who changed Chloe." Ingrid stated, not really knowing what to do. "So now we…Go back to Garside and talk to Bertra…oh, yeah that's not going to work." She muttered as Malik shot her a look of concern, she had forgotten that Bertrand was ash. "Well we need to go to Garside," She stated, "Malik's right, you'll be safer there." She said rubbing her temple again.  
_Are you okay? _Malik asked her telepathically. _You are doing that a lot lately. _  
"I'm fine." Ingrid snapped, aloud. "Let's just get back to Garside okay?" She turned to Robin and Chloe. "How long do you need?" She asked impatiently.  
"Like five minutes," Chloe mumbled in reply, Robin nodded.  
"I've just gotta make a quick call" he chimed, "And then I'm ready."  
Ingrid nodded. "Okay Malik you take Chloe back to Garside when she's ready and stay out of sight until me or Vlad gets back." Malik saluted before disappearing off with Chloe. "Robin, make that call quick and then I'll take you to Garside." She muttered harshly. What had she signed herself up for, she asked herself groaning and rubbing her forehead again.

Jonno Van Helsing wasn't surprised when Jenna Woods, one of the more able of the slayers, returned to the base as a vampire. No he wasn't surprised, more of annoyed, or slightly pissed off. Not at her of course, it wasn't her fault, but at the sucker that had done this. She'd walked in in a very much different manner than normal, her green eyes that usually held so much hope now glued to the floor in shame, not in shame of what she now was, but in shame that she couldn't protect herself. She wouldn't be ashamed of what she had become, because that wasn't her, no amount of slayer training could change that; just like no amount of blood would change the way she thought, she was a fighter and she was going to stay that way for as long as she could. So when Jonno asked her if she was okay he meant emotionally, not physically, not mentally, because that he could see. Nothing could change the open book that Jenna was, and that was how she wanted it to stay.  
"I'm fine," Jenna muttered, "I just didn't expect some to just jump me like that." She sobbed. Sighing Jonno wrapped his arms around her in a hug. It was going to take a while to find the underlying cause of this, and whether he liked it or not he was going to need help.  
"We'll get to the bottom of this," He promised her, "And we'll get you back home." Jenna nodded, as she pulled back and wiped the tears from her eyes.  
"I just want it to all be over, you know?" She muttered leaning against the wall. "I can still feel the change happening and it hurts like hell, my head…I dunno it just…" Jenna slipped, having slipped into unconsciousness, Jonno caught her, but only just as the pair hit the ground. No permanent damage, not from the fall anyway, Jonno thought before shouting.  
"Someone help!" One of the slayers, Jenna's friend, helped Jonno to lift Jenna off the floor.  
"We need to get her to Garside," Jonno muttered, "And fast."

"Cool," Robin muttered, as he and Ingrid appeared just short of Garside's entrance. He looked around the courtyard, "S'it a school?" He asked Ingrid, glancing back at her when she didn't reply, "Oh shit" he muttered as he saw her slip and hit the floor. Running over to her, he gently shook her. "Ingrid?" He said, shaking her a little harder, "Com'on Ingrid, wake up." He said in a panicked voice, kneeling next to her. He looked around the courtyard. No one was around. "Vlad!" he shouted, "Someone help!" He said a little louder as he began to get panicky. Robin went to check her pulse, but the remembered that she didn't have one. He looked around panicked, until the comforting sound of a pair of vampires appearing just meters away from him. He looked up at the sound, "VLAD!" He shouted. The young vampire and his companion paused mid pace, Vlad rubbed his eyes.  
"Robin?" Vlad muttered, "What are yo-"  
"That's not the flipping point, help Ingrid!" The welsh boy muttered angrily. The half-fang slapped his shoulder playfully before rushing to her side, as did Vlad. "I don't know what happened, one minute we were on our way back from Paris to meet Malik and Chloe and the next she was passed out." He muttered as he helped the vampires lift her off the ground.

_Ingrid didn't know where she was, but she knew it wasn't real. One thing gave that away, Will. She called out to him, but he couldn't see her. And no matter how hard she tried, he was there but she couldn't reach out and touch him. As a tear ran down her cheek, she quickly wiped it away concentrating on the conversation, not sparing a thought as to what was happening to her.  
"You promised Ingrid would be left out of this!" Will cried angrily to the ghostly figure that had entered the room, whilst rubbing his sore temple. He flung a fireball in a random direction away from the figure, Ingrid dodged it 'Ouch' she muttered. "If you hurt her I swear on my undead life…" He growled, letting his fangs drop as he approached the figure, who was now looking out the window. Ingrid smiled, seeing Will's protective side come out for her. _

_"Your attachment to the Dracula child is growing; you mustn't let this interfere with our plans." The figure replied in an irritated tone. Will sighed.  
"We agreed that Ingrid wouldn't be involved in this!" He argued. "So either you un-involve her from this or I'm out." He said, pausing, "And I mean out." The figure turned to face Will, but Ingrid couldn't see who it was.  
"You agreed that in return for your unlife back you would co-operate, and in turn I promised that your obsession would not be harmed. You have no need to be alarmed." It replied, uninterested, in a distant voice. With a shiver, Ingrid walked/glided over to stand/hover next to Will, feeling comfort know that he was there, even if he didn't know. A mist of silence fell onto the room, Ingrid shifted uncomfortable at the silent conversation between Will and the figure. Eventually the figure sighed, and gave a faint nod. Smiling Will turned to face Ingrid; he let his fingers drift over her hair, letting out a breath of unneeded air. "Ingrid," He paused, not knowing what to say first. Ingrid froze as she held back the tears. "You've got to go back to Garside now, okay? And you'll be fine, you'll just be a bit dizzy for a while. The others'll be fine, but make sure they get enough blood when they wake up." Ingrid nodded, not being able to do anything else. "I can't tell you what's going on, but I promise you I'll be back in your arms soon okay" A dozen tears slipped from the eyes of the pair as they looked at one another.  
"I love you." She whispered. Will nodded,  
"I love you too babe, but you have to go, now okay? Vlad needs you." Will went to take a step back, but she stopped him.  
"No." She muttered, "I can't lose you again," She said, stroking his cheek, "Don't make me go." She begged. Will forced a smile and wiped the tears from her eyes,  
"I'm sorry," He muttered, "I love you okay." Ingrid began to feel herself being pulled back into the real world, she could hear Vlad talking to her, trying to wake her up. She blocked it out. "I love you, and I'll see you soon." He promised, dropping a kiss on her lips just as she faded. _

_Ingrid screamed. _


	3. Chapter 3

"Oh shut her up," the Count muttered as Ingrid's screams continued. As his daughter shot up from her position on the floor, her screams stopped. "Thank you," he said, sarcastically, going back to his book, Twilight, Vlad really had to get Miss McCauley to get him the next one in the series, or he thought his dad might actually go mental. Ingrid breathed heavily in and out, even though she didn't need the oxygen, looking round frantically.  
"Will?" She questioned, hesitantly, ignoring the fact that all eyes in the room were on her, bar her fathers and Jenna, who was still passed out on the couch.  
"Will what?" Erin asked her from her side just as Robin muttered to Vlad,  
"Isn't Will dead? He's the one she bit right?" Vlad nodded.  
"Where's Will?" Ingrid asked again, ignoring Erin's question. "Why isn't her here?" She pushed, looking round confused. It was obvious that she was fighting tears, which wanted so badly to flow down her cheeks, vampires didn't cry, especially not her. Erin had shrunk into the background in embarrassment by this point and was pretending to help Jonno check on Jenna, with Malik, both of whom had also sought to leave the conversation that was about to come to light.  
Vlad looked to Robin for guidance, and then to Chloe, they shrugged, giving him a 'it's your sister' look. Vlad raised his eyebrows and Robin sighed in defeat. Crouching by Ingrid's side he spoke in a hushed tone to her, "Ingrid, Will died five years ago…" At these words, it was almost as if a switch had been triggered in her head. The young vampire stood shakily,  
"I know that" She snapped, swaying on her feet. Malik and Vlad immediately rushed to her side to prevent her from falling. She tried to shove them off, but stumbled and grabbed on to their arms. "Sorry," She muttered.  
"What happened?" Vlad asked her, as he and Malik helped her over to sit down.  
"I don't know, I was just standing there, with Robin and I was about to go inside to get you and tell you that him and Chloe were back and then, it was like there was some kind of electrical pulse was being sent through my mind…" She trailed off slightly as she recalled what happened. "Then…oh blood and garlic." She muttered, clutching her temple.  
"What?" Malik asked, speaking up, trying to act all cool. Ingrid shook her head.  
"I…I saw Will." She said shaking. "I'm fine." She snapped suddenly, "I'm just a little tired, it was a long flight from Paris, especially with a passenger." She said, shaking her head, "I'm going to get some sleep." Ingrid wiped her eyes, catching a stray tear, before whizzing out of the room. Malik looked to Vlad for guidance, he just shrugged in reply.  
"She'll talk about it when she's ready." He said simply, snapping his fingers causing the Counts book to set on fire. "Dad. Thanks for the help there." He said sarcastically, speeding out of the room. Erin muttered something to Jonno and Robin before following him. The Count yelped.  
"Vladimir!" He shouted, dropping the burning book. Rolling his eyes, his eldest son stamped out the flaming pages. The room was silent for a moment, before Jenna flung upwards, coughing. "Oh cut it out!" The Count cursed, leaving the room.  
"Someone's gotten happier." Chloe muttered. Robin glared at her as he helped Jonno check Jenna over.  
"Jenna." He muttered. "Jenna, are you okay?" He asked her, squeezing her hand. Jonno gave him a confused look but moved on without questioning how the pair knew each other.  
"Jenna, how many fingers am I holding up?" Jonno asked, holding three fingers up in front of her face. Jenna shook her head.  
"I can see perfectly fine." She said, rubbing her temple. "My head just hurts a little, and my throat's really sore." She croaked weakly. Chloe rolled her eyes, glancing at Malik.  
"Well durh! She's been bitten." She stated, "Of course she's going to have a headache, she's just finished changing, been knocked out by something and she still hasn't had any blood." Malik raised an eyebrow, questioning her, before speeding out of the room, getting her point. He returned with some blood and awkwardly handed it to Jonno, who cringed inwardly but held it out to Jenna nonetheless, as Robin muttered 'oh yeah', and turned away slightly, not letting go of her hand. She took it gratefully and drank it, feeling better almost immediately.  
"Thanks." Jenna muttered awkwardly, wiping her mouth with the back of her sleeve. "Hey!" She chimed, "The room stopped spinning!" jumping up and skipping round the room. At this Robin couldn't help but laugh, neither could Jonno; purely because Jenna was okay, or at least she was okay enough to still have a sense of humor. Maybe things were going to be okay, he thought, Jenna was still alive, that had to be a good thing, right? Robin wasn't sure that Ingrid's dread of Will was though, not only was it strange that both Ingrid and Jenna had passed out at similar times, but the fact that Ingrid had dreamed about Will, to the extent that she thought he was still alive was a little worrying. Robin couldn't help but think that there was something else going on here.

Vlad was sat in the center of the training room when Erin caught up with him, legs crossed and hands on his head as if he was deep in thought. With out saying a word she dropped down on to the floor beside him, staring at a spot on the ground in front of them. After a moment or so's silence Vlad sat up straighter and didn't make any effort to push Erin away when she slipped into his arms. Holding her to him, he took in a breath of unneeded air, resting his head on top of hers. "Do you want to talk about it?" She asked, running her hand up and down his arm on instinct. Vlad thought for a moment before shaking his head.  
"I'll be fine, it's nothing." He sighed, Erin was right, he needed to start talking about what he was feeling. "It's a lot to take in, you know? Robin and Chloe are back, Ingrid and that dream about Will, which could be nothing, but I get the feeling that it's more significant than it seems. And then there's Jenna as well. She passed out at about the same time as Ingrid did, and woke up at a similar time as well, it's a little worrying." Erin nodded, understanding. She went to answer him, but Wolfie chose that moment to come running into the room shouting.  
"Vlad! Erin! He's back! He's back!" He shouted, shaking a little in fear, jumping to hide between the couple. He yelped in fear as a voice broke the stunned silence.  
"Wolfie? What's the matter?" The figure glanced around. "What's going on?"  
Erin pulled a confused face, hiding the fact that if she'd been human she would have been out of control of her emotions by this point, "Vlad I thought...I saw...What's going on?" He shook his head in reply, Vlad had no idea.  
"Care to explain what's going on?" He asked, now sure that there was something going on. "Actually, I don't think you have a choice in that one." He said standing, leaving Erin to take care of Wolfie. The figure sighed.  
"You're guess is as good as mine, Vlad, do you think I chose to come back? After becoming one of you and then dying for a second time as it were? No. I'm not here by choice, I don't even remember what happened at that competition, just that I died." He laughed. "RIP Ryan Noble,for the second time! But guess what, he's back. Ingrid will be pleased." He said, glancing at Erin. "Hey sis, aren't you looking a little different, finally decided to grow up did you?"


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Just a short chapter this time, but I guess at least it's an update :) **

Erin shook, trying to control her anger, sure, she was happy that her brother was back, but he was certainly being more of a jerk than he had been when he had 'died' the first time. Maybe he'd been stubborn then, and hadn't seemed to care for her at all, but at least he hadn't made an effort to insult her for no reason. She muttered to Wolfie to go and find Malik and tell him that he had to look after him for her for a few minutes, and the pup quickly left the room without questioning her. She stood shakily and sighed, not meaning for the curtain in the corner of the room to catch fire in a motion of anger; it wasn't her fault that she could tap into Vlad's powers, she hadn't meant to that time. She winced as the three vampires all jumped in harmony to avoid the rays of sun that had been allowed to enter the room. "Sorry," She muttered to Vlad, before turning back to Ryan, who by now was looking a little uneasy about his sister's display of power, showing him what she'd become since he'd been gone.

"You're..." He couldn't finish the sentence, oh he certainly hadn't expected that one, he never thought Vlad'd have the guts to change her. Erin laughed at his reaction.

"Yeah. But what gives you the right to stroll in here, acting as if nothing has happened, and comment on my 'new look'?" She took a breath from her laughter, "Oh sorry, I forgot that you're all so powerful and couldn't care less about your poor, innocent little sister Erin at all. It's all about Ingrid isn't it? Well do you want to know something Ryan? She doesn't care about you at all, and you know what? Neither do I." She snapped harshly, Vlad knew better than to interrupt her, and so stepped towards her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close to him, in an attempt to calm her. She instantly relaxed, and leaned into him, but continued in a slightly more friendly tone. "She doesn't care about you in the way you want to care about her. And not in the way I used to care about you either. So you can go back to caring about no one but yourself." She said emphasizing the 'used to', assuring her feelings, shaking her head. Ryan went to reply but she cut him off. "A lot has changed since you died, Ryan. I've changed, Ingrid's changed, you need to remember that before you go around insulting everyone like you used to." After a breath she shut her eyes, trying to calm herself as she leaned into Vlad's embrace, he wrapped his arms tighter around her and whispered soothing words into her ear. Glancing to Ryan, he chose his words carefully as he said,

"I think we should finish this...conversation later." He gave Ryan a slight nod, then motioned for him to leave, it would be better to let Erin cool off before they dealt with the problem at hand. Ryan went to reply, but thought better of it and nodded, before whizzing to the door. He paused in the doorway,  
"You always came first Erin," He said, sincerely, "I know it seemed like you didn't, but everything I did before mom and dad left us was to protect you." He let out a little airy laugh, before leaving, passing Ingrid on his way out, ignoring her completely. She shut her eyes and shook her head a little before continuing, stepping forwards into the room. "I don't want to interrupt but there's something you should know." She said, in a tone that didn't quite sound like her, if she'd been human she would have looked a lot more tired than she did, in the short time that it'd been she hadn't been taking the news well, and keeping what she knew from Vlad was only making her feel worse. Ingrid swayed on her feet slightly as she made her way towards the center of the room. Vlad nodded, ready to step forward and grab her if she stumbled. Erin forced a smile before taking a seat on the floor, she was tired and she could see that Ingrid was too, they could sort whatever this was out in a relaxed manner; neither of them needed any more stress.  
"What is it Ingrid?" Vlad asked, as he helped her to sit on the floor. She took a breath and looked to Erin, and then to Vlad.  
"When I saw Will, he wasn't alone, there was someone else there, and don't tell me it doesn't mean anything because it does, I was there with them." Erin nodded, acknowledging that she understood what she was saying.  
"Them?" Vlad questioned, Ingrid rolled her eyes.  
"I was getting to that. There was this woman in the room, I don't know who she was but she seems to be in control of all this, Will couldn't tell me what, but…he…he promised that he'd be back with me soon. Vlad I don't know what's going on but me and that half fang passing out, and then Ryan coming back to the dead from the undead, isn't even the worst of it." She shook her head, "Something's happening." She muttered, letting her eyes shut; she took a deep breath, shaking her head. "So, yeah." And with that she stood, and left the room without another word.

Vlad and Erin sat in silence for a moment, thinking about what had just happened. "She's right." A voice called out from behind them, "There's worse to come." Erin frowned, shifting closer to Vlad at the voice; Vlad pulled a confused face and turned towards the source.  
"Mr Van Helsing?" He asked, pulling Erin closer to him, "What are you doing here?"


	5. Chapter 5

Eric smiled weakly, "I'm afraid I didn't have a choice in the matter, it was come back or hell." He shrugged, "I suppose life for a second time round it better than no life at all." Eric gave Vlad a glance over, taking note of any changes, and of how the young vampire stood slightly in front of the half-fang female, not in a position of superior power, but as means as protection. She didn't seem to mind, but rested her hand on the Dracula's arm, holding him back, almost as if she knew that he meant them no harm. "I didn't come here to hurt you Vladimir, despite what your mind wipe did to me, I'm here to help you." Vlad relaxed slightly at his words, and nodded.  
"Okay… So… why are you here?" he asked, he genuinely didn't have a clue, sure, he assumed it was to do with Ryan, Chloe and Robin coming back, and Jenna and Chloe's transformations from an unknown vampire. Mr Van Helsing smiled.  
"If only I knew more than I did. All I can tell you is that a young vampire prepositioned me when I was waiting to pass on as it were."  
Vlad frowned, "and when you say prepositioned, you mean?"  
Eric laughed, "She tried to get me to join her in her attempt to bring the Dracula's down. Now, she wouldn't tell me much, but I think she was trying to raise an army, she wasn't just asking anyone though, only those that knew you, which I thought was a little strange, but whatever floats her boat and all that" Erin frowned before stepping forward.  
"It does make sense in a way if you think about it, if she was recruiting those that had died and knew Vlad and his family, then maybe she was looking for those that had something they could hold against him. Those that had been wronged by the Dracula's, no matter how indirectly, if you get what I mean." The Vlad nodded, understanding.  
"That would make sense; it would certainly fit what she was looking for." Eric agreed. Chloe chose that moment to wiz into the room,  
"Quite short vampire, brunette, really pretty, short temper?" She questioned him, "Black eyes…"  
"And the voice of an angel." Eric nodded, "that's her."  
Erin glanced between the pair, and then to Vlad, and rolled her eyes, she knew they were going to end up talking about the past and that was something she knew little off. She'd never met these people, and she didn't know who they were; from what she could gather, Chloe was Robins younger sister, and Robin had been Vlad's best friend. Will, on the other hand, she had decided, must have been Ingrid's boyfriend, the one who had died and had caused Ingrid to become as she was now, it was all rather confusing, but she thought she was doing quite well. Without a second glance, she sighed and sat on a box that had been left at the side of the room, and she could almost swear that she heard Bertrand yell 'Don't you dare go breaking that, it's older than the eldest vampire there is living.' She shook it off and went back to listening to the conversation.  
" So if this vampire been going around recruiting the dead, and bringing them back to life, and I'm sure we can assume that the same happened to Ryan as it did to you, and she's also been turning humans, then surely you must know what you've done to have made them do this." Chloe said, rolling her eyes. Vlad had begun to notice how much the young girl he'd known had grown up. If you discounted her looks alone, it was still hard to see her as the same girl that he had known those few years ago. You could tell by the way that she stood that she had changed, she didn't stand like a child anymore, and you could tell from the way she acted, shaking things off like they didn't matter, glancing at her nails mid conversation like she didn't care, the care free attitude and all. Yes, her transformation to becoming a vampire would have affected that, but that wasn't even a fraction of it.  
"I can't think of anything, the only person that I can think of that might have something against us to that extent would be Elizabeta, but she died, Malik was there, and she's not coming back anytime soon." At the mention of his name, Malik appeared in the doorway.  
"Whoever is behind all this, it isn't Elizabeta," He spat out her name as if it were garlic. "I'd know, she's not back, she couldn't be. She's not behind this, or at least, she's not leading this. Even if she did have the power to bring herself back, then she wouldn't have had enough time to plan this. Whoever it is has been planning this for a while." Erin nodded in agreement, as did Eric; Chloe just rolled her eyes, and went to find Jenna, leaving Vlad to consider this.  
"I suppose it would make sense but I'm not sure. Why would someone just start bringing back people that have died, I mean first Ryan, and then you, Eric, and before that Jenna and Chloe got bitten, if there's worse to come, then I reckon we ought to start watching out for Adze and Ramanga." Vlad rubbed his head, it was too much for one evening, he didn't have to glance at the window to know that it was almost dark now.  
"Enough of this for tonight." Erin said, it had come out as more of a plea, but she hadn't meant it to, she just had a bad headache from all that had happened with Ryan and then all this. "There's plenty of rooms here, everyone involved can stay the night and we can try to sort this out in more detail tomorrow. It's no use getting into it too much, it's been a long day, I mean, I was in Paris less than 4 hours ago, I can't deal with anymore of this tonight." She said, shaking her head, "I'm not sure about you guys, but, I'm going to bed, coffin, whatever you want to call it." She ran her hands over her face and shook her head again and sped out the room. Vlad nodded in agreement, "It was nice seeing you again Mr. Van Helsing, Renfield will show you to a room, and I assure you that you will be perfectly safe there, from anyone here and from whoever's behind all this."  
Eric nodded, "Please, we're not at school anymore, call me Eric. And I'm sure I will, I would never doubt it, not after all you've done with Jonathon and this truce that you tried." The chosen one nodded, before leaving, "Malik, Ingrid'll want to talk to you, she won't talk to me about what happened, but I'm sure she'll talk to you." And with that, they parted ways.


End file.
